wannabe

Southside snow conditions were great Tue a.m. before sunrise. I turned around just before the hogsback (late start for me). Just below crater rock I was passed by a descending climber just after 8 am from New Jersey who had turned around due to a sore leg. He said his two companions continued to the summit. The accident must have occurred just before that, though neither of us knew at that time. He continued down alone to Timberline and I did not see him again. More info: http://pdxfanews.blogspot.com/2014/05/climber-identified.html

Photo take Fri, Aug 6, from S Sister summit.

For those that care: The road to the trailhead is open. Patchy snow to Soap Creek, then nearly solid snow from there on. There are so many trees across the trail it almost seems as if it has been abandoned. Thundershowers on Sat evening. Clouds overnight did not let the snow freeze up, so I opted not to trudge up the soft stuff to Middle Sister this morning and bail. Looks like plenty of snow up there for a while yet. No real mosquitoes, but you can sense the beast is about to awaken...

I took this shot on Tue afternoon from the PCT just N of the pass.

I thought I would be able to slip up this morning just as this last weather was dying out. Unfortunately it was still full-on rain at Timberline this early morning and was not letting up anytime soon. (I saw it finally did later in the day.) By the time I got to Silcox I realized my "water-proof" boots weren't. The snow was quite soft and with the forecast I cannot imagine that it will freeze-up anytime soon. Expect sloppy snow if you are headed up in the next few days.

Funny: I just called Sisters RS today and they said the snow is still 3 miles from the TH. Hopefully this coming hot weather will help melt that down a bit.

+1 for weekdays on the S Side. +1 for calling in sick to go climbing rather than burning vacation time.

I was up the S Side on Monday and elected not to go higher than the hogsback due to the ice bits coming down and the snow turning sloppy in the sun on the old chute. Most people (and a dog) I saw were turning back at that point. Pretty warm for Feb. On the way down I talked to a party of three that said they might try out the Devil's Kitchen Headwall. Entertainment was provided by the guy glissading off the hogsback with crampons on.

Garmin Etrex Map Compass I have used this software and a homebrew data cable with the Etrex with good results: USAPhotoMaps (free) Homebrew data cable (cheap) Easy GPS is a free program that can load/download your waypoint data from your computer hard drive. I was inspired to get a GPS last winter since I do not have a dog named velvet or a tauntaun and wanted to be sure I could make it back to the lodge bar in a white-out using my own waypoints. Etrex is fine with a clear sky view, but not so good in the forest. Wish they had the H model last year.

I decided not to wait and checked it out myself. Road in is clear. Just a few patches of snow in the shade at the bivi. Trail to timberline has a bit of snow as you go higher. Should be melting out this week. The lower part of monitor ridge can be done on rock if you desire. I put crampons on for the top half and was glad I had them as it was hard frozen snow early in the am. Good cornice starting to grow at the rim. Clouds were blowing in by late morning. Felt like early summer climbing conditions. Road and lower trail should be passable until we get some solid snow. I decided to excuse the three college boys in running shoes and cotton sweats heading up after I saw their license plate said FLORIDA.

Wondering if anyone has a recent road report on conditions up road 830 to the climber's bivi? I called Jack's today (Wed 10/24/07) and they said it was accessible with 4wd. I am guessing the mild weather may have melted off what snow fell last week and the road may be clear now or at least by Sun. Thanks -

Snow patches start at about 7,000. Climbers trail reasonably marked from the start between Shale and Mud lakes. Keep an eye on the Warm Springs fire. It looked like it was picking up and we decided to abort our summit attempt today rather than get smoked (or burned) out. From the S ridge looking SE: Above Shale lake:

My partner and I were up last week. Snow starts above Crescent glacier, but most rock wall camp sites are dry. Running water at Lunch Counter. We were able to stay on snow from Lunch Counter all the way to the top. Conditions were ideal. We suspended our food bags from a ski pole to keep them away from critters.

Speaking of bad weather, I thought I was being clever by heading up this morning (Monday) and avoiding the weekend front that was supposed to blow through Sun night. Before I even reached the top of Palmer I could hardly make out one lift tower to the next through the near white-out conditions. I bailed and had to scrape the truck window back in the parking lot. Of course by the time I got home the weather broke and the sun came out.

Our party of three camped Sat night and climbed Middle Sister on Sun a.m. Thunderstorms on Sat night, but it cleared off. The temp did not really drop and the snow all the way was like mashed potatoes. We managed to wallow our way to the top. Saw a headlamp near the summit of N Sister on the E side at 4am about when the other groups near us were heading out.

Myself and a few others will be at the foot of the Hayden on Sat and plan on scampering up the N ridge of Middle on Sun a.m. Hope this Sat night forecast does not pan out: ORZ011-013-312300- NORTH OREGON CASCADES- .SATURDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. BECOMING PARTLY SUNNY WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AFTERNOON. FREE AIR FREEZING LEVEL 14000 FEET. PASS WINDS NORTH 5 TO 10 MPH. .SATURDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. SNOW LEVEL ABOVE 8000 FEET. .SUNDAY...PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. FREE AIR FREEZING LEVEL 13000 FEET.

The KGW written report and video clip do not match: one says a snow cat was used and the other says they walked off on their own. http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_051207_news_mt_hood_climbers.6312442d.html

Icy, but solid. Got soft as soon as the sun hit it and let loose the small ice chunks. Did ok with just a mt axe, but wished I had a second tool like others I saw. Clouds were rolling in by the time I got to the car. Not sure if Sat will be as nice as today.

Just got back from a morning summit. Crowds going up the left-side Pearly Gate and waiting in line. Myself and a few others took the Old Chute which looked much more fun. It was. Highlights: chatting with some cool people on top who followed me up and meeting a PMR team member. Scary: watching the young man with no ice axe and his hands in his pockets strolling along the narrow ridge from the summit to the top of the Old Chute and back for a look-see.

Updated this afternoon: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mthood/recreation/climbing/conditions.shtml "Right-click --> view image" the picture at the bottom to see the hi-res version.

Any beta on conditions up the old chute? Does it look like people have gone up that way?

In Oregon we have something similar: http://www.bikecommutechallenge.com/oregon A few people at my work participated in Sept, but not many. I am trying to drum up more participation next fall with offers of free beer mixed with peer pressure to get out of the car. If you dress appropriately, you will not be overly sweaty when you get to work. If you can stand being cold for the first 5-10 min, you can warm-up to just the right temp w/out overheating. I take my work clothes in a small back pack. Get full fenders and gore-tex for the winter. Pros: Save $$ by not buying gas, get your workout done while riding, and feel smug while riding past the SUVs in traffic. Cons: You might start to have feelings of hate toward cell-phone-talking-soccer-moms-in-SUVs who drift into the bike lane. I bike 5 days/week, 2,000 miles/yr and have definitely seen a difference in my stamina on slogtastic cascade volcano climbs.

Update: an article in the May 3 Statesman about the Pamelia Lake trail and PCT crossing at Milk Creek: http://159.54.226.83/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070503/OUTDOORS/705030302/1034

Just got back from a stroll into Pamelia Lake. Parts of the trail are indeed gone, but it is easy to find your way across the washed-out sections. Watch for the pink ribbons tied to branches marking the way. Pics on the forest service website give a good idea of what you will encounter. Still a bit of snow near the lake, but the lake is now ice-free. Did not go farther than the lake, but I would imagine the PCT to the south is still mostly snow covered.

Update from a climb on Thur, April 26: While the snow was soft, there was a good boot pack up to the hogsback saddle (thanks Timberline guided group in front of us!). No boot pack up the Old Chute and we did not feel like breaking that much trail so we went up to the Pearly Gates to have a look-see. The shrund is ~barely~ open with a bridge across the center. We chose the left gully at the gates and found it to be a bit of a sketch-fest while soloing with aluminum crampons and one mt axe. Additional fun was had practically squirming through the rime mushrooms that narrow down the gully to about 3ft at one spot. I let my partner know that was f*#@ed-up considering our equipment. We traversed over to the old chute and descended on softening snow there. Most other teams were equipped with ropes and anchors for that one icy pitch through the gully. I would post a pic, but they would look the same as last months.